Strange World Is a Historic Bomb for Disney on a Weak Thanksgiving Box Office Weekend

[nancipants]

I feel like if any recent Disney movie has very on the nose messaging, it would be Zootopia. But I barely heard anyone complain about that at the time. I just find it so disheartening that, similar to Lightyear, people are getting so worked up over seeing an LGBT character in a movie. Disney's LGBT rep admittedly isn't great (this is coming from someone who is LGBT) but those characters do not make a movie "political".

Since Lightyear came out on D+ it's been one of our toddler's requested movies. The first time we watched it I almost laughed when I saw the "LBGT content" people were so bent out of shape about. Then I saw someone ranting about how could a female character get pregnant when they're married to a woman? According to them, that's just confusing for kids! Apparently, a civilization capable of traveling through space can't figure out IUI or IVF.

As for Strange World, I saw a bunch of previews on Disney Junior but still had no idea what it was about. I'm not going to bring my toddler to the movies any time soon, but when we finally do it's probably going to be a big Blockbuster. I'm part of the problem.

 

[Smugpugmug]

exactly... we live in a diverse society, people want to see themselves reflected in characters, it should not be 'political' to have a person of color... or a person who is non binary or LGBT as any character, supporting lead etc. It seems that some folks are essentially just being mad they they exist, as it seems to have little to with their actions in a particular film, but just that they are there at all.... it is sad that there are folks threatened simply by the inclusion of others.

Agreed, that's the impression I get. Some people simply don't want them to be there at all. It's also disheartening when people say LGBT characters make a film "not family friendly". So LGBT people like me are inherently not family friendly? You can definitely criticize the quality of the representation but being upset they're there at all is so odd to me.

Since Lightyear came out on D+ it's been one of our toddler's requested movies. The first time we watched it I almost laughed when I saw the "LBGT content" people were so bent out of shape about. Then I saw someone ranting about how could a female character get pregnant when they're married to a woman? According to them, that's just confusing for kids! Apparently, a civilization capable of traveling through space can't figure out IUI or IVF.

As for Strange World, I saw a bunch of previews on Disney Junior but still had no idea what it was about. I'm not going to bring my toddler to the movies any time soon, but when we finally do it's probably going to be a big Blockbuster. I'm part of the problem.

Yup, same here. The actual scene is like, 2 seconds? 2 seconds out of a 90 minute film.

I'm part of the problem too, I guess. The cost of seeing a movie doesn't seem worth it to me in a lot of cases. I think going forward Disney should hold off on putting new movies onto Disney+ and let them stay in theaters longer.

 

[VandVsmama]

Lightyear was a lousy movie for a bunch of reasons that had nothing to do with the lesbian couple in it. Even if you had made those 2 characters straight, the movie still would have been bad.

 

[BrianL]

Lightyear was a lousy movie for a bunch of reasons that had nothing to do with the lesbian couple in it. Even if you had made those 2 characters straight, the movie still would have been bad.

Yeah, pretty much. I didn't think it was terrible, but it sure was disappointing. There are some good things in it too. I had such high hopes. I think Strange Worls is a much better film.

 

[nancipants]

I liked Lightyear, haha. But I also wasn't expecting much and I really like Chris Evans. Plus the soundtrack is a banger.

 

[gharter]

Lightyear was a lousy movie for a bunch of reasons that had nothing to do with the lesbian couple in it. Even if you had made those 2 characters straight, the movie still would have been bad.

Not sure I would put it at lousy, but clearly not their best. Glad I only watched it on Disney +. Would have been very unhappy to spend the money to see it in a theater.

 

[gharter]

Strange World - I don't think I have seen a single ad for it. Not even sure if its in theaters around us. Clearly going to wait about a month for it to show up on Disney +.

 

[DodgerGirl]

The movie is still good, even if a flop. You should definitely see it whne you get a chance. The original title of the film was "Searcher Clade" - which I think is a better title. His name is Searcher because it is distinctive and since his father was a great explorer, he named his son after his profession. his father's name is Jaeger, which also means "hunter" and is appropriate for his character too.

Strange World was originally gonna be named Searcher Clade? How cool was that. I just can't stop crushing on Searcher Clade and I have been addicted to Jake Gyllenhaal videos on Youtube ever since I started liking Strange World and I am once again longing for a Searcher Clade plushie but it never seems that it won't debut but I do find Splat cute
Dodger

 

[Yarbogash]

Saw Strange World today. My 12 year old really liked it. 7 year old just thought it was ok. Definitely not a favorite for her.
She absolutely loved Lightyear. That movie and that version of the character made a big impression on her.

Imho Strange World is ok, it is a far out concept and I can see people not getting it. It's ambitious, imaginative story telling but the characters and story beats are just bleah.

 

[AurumPunzel]

Agreed, that's the impression I get. Some people simply don't want them to be there at all. It's also disheartening when people say LGBT characters make a film "not family friendly". So LGBT people like me are inherently not family friendly? You can definitely criticize the quality of the representation but being upset they're there at all is so odd to me.

That's the thing. For a WDAS film to have LGBT+ representation is rather unprecedented, given that breaking new ground has been more of a Pixar thing. However, like you've said, it's right to criticise the quality of the diversity representation. Eternals was far worse in that aspect, as every aspect of representation the film showed came off as one big tokenistic virtue-signalling gesture that added nothing to the film, and became a huge distraction from the story.

I've still yet to watch Strange World, and I'll be giving the film a chance, but the amount of mixed reviews I'm hearing about it is making me indecisive.

 

[gharter]

I've still yet to watch Strange World, and I'll be giving the film a chance, but the amount of mixed reviews I'm hearing about it is making me indecisive.

I've watched our news and I have yet to see an ad for it. really strange as Disney usually promotes very strong. i haven't seen it, but it still sits in the wait for Disney + in a month for me.

 

[ElyseInWonderland]

Did they market this movie strictly with ads on bus benches?! I swear I didn't hear a THING about it until people started talking about how bad it was.

Disney needs to get some real creatives and good storytellers back in the room.

 

[gharter]

Did they market this movie strictly with ads on bus benches?! I swear I didn't hear a THING about it until people started talking about how bad it was.

Disney needs to get some real creatives and good storytellers back in the room.

That would be our experience as well. I had never heard of this movie until I read about reviews here.
Not sure if they knew it would be a bomb and didn't put money into marketing it? Usually, then it just goes direct to video.

 

[Karin1984]

That would be our experience as well. I had never heard of this movie until I read about reviews here.
Not sure if they knew it would be a bomb and didn't put money into marketing it? Usually, then it just goes direct to video.

I think they knew, but by then there were already contracts with theaters or maybe with actors with the promise of a theatrical release in their contract (after Scarlet J. they are probably careful), and to just have something in the theaters at Thanksgiving. Somewhere in the beginning of the process someone in charge should have said "this is not the best storytelling we can do, back to the drawing board."

When you look on Youtube for "strange world interview" you only see a handful of interview videos. There was no attention for the premiere in LA.

They knew and decided not to make any more losses.

 

[DodgerGirl]

I think Disney was so eager to release Strange World that they didn't put enough promotion and since it was gonna be released before Thanksgiving they probably didn't have enough time for the actors to fully promote the movie with interviews because of Thanksgiving. But when you go to Youtube and research Strange World the only actor that is promoting the movie in interviews is Jake Gyllenhaal and if you type Jake Gyllenhaal in the Youtube search you'll see a bunch of Jake Gyllenhaal interviews about Strange World while Gabrielle Union and Dennis Quaid have almost no Strange World promotional interviews at all. And what it tells me is that they want to make Jake Gyllenhaal the star of Strange World and I think what Jake Gyllenhaal thinks is with Strange World he will become one of Disney's top stars and make an even bigger household name for himself in Hollywood. But once Strange World gets released to Disney+ we will begin to see more promotion on it

 

[BrianL]

It was always a movie with niche appeal. I am sure they saw that coming and didn't promote it heavily. I've been worried about it from the beginning, even though it's the kind of movie that I really like (and it's good too!). The timing probably wasn't great either - it would have been a better spring movie probably. It's unfortunate, but it is what it is.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

Movies are ALL in trouble. They just can't win for lossing.
Why spent over $50 for a family of 4 to go see a movie that will be on demand in less than 6 weeks (sometimes 1-2 weeks) in your house to under $10.
Even if it is Premiere price of $20, you can have 2-3 families share the cost.

Going to the movies with your family is an experience. Anyone can sit in their house all day and watch TV or movies. Did that for a year in 2020 and watched all the movies we could. Got old fast. I still remember times I went to the movies with my family when I was a child. Those are memories I want my children to enjoy and remember.

Its more about the product being put on screen. There are still movies that make a billion dollars at the box office. People just need to want to see them. This movie is not one of them. Every live action movie also has sucked that they put out. They just haven't had the " it " factor in a while. Encanto was alright, but I still think it was extremely overrated compared to older movies. Just my opinion.

 

[HokieRaven5]

Its more about the product being put on screen. There are still movies that make a billion dollars at the box office. People just need to want to see them. This movie is not one of them. Every live action movie also has sucked that they put out. They just haven't had the " it " factor in a while. Encanto was alright, but I still think it was extremely overrated compared to older movies. Just my opinion.

The only 3 movies to top $1B at the box office since 2020 have ranged between awful to good plot movies but all seriously tug on the nostalgia draw and overall familiarity with something. Plus they all “Look” really cool on the big screen.

Spider-man No Way Home - was all about the nostalgia factor, decent movie on its own but without the nostalgia it doesn’t hit that peak.

Jurassic World Dominion - that’s a bad movie that benefitted from nostalgia with the brand and being a culmination of the Jurassic movies. And of course “Look at the Cool Dinosaurs!”

Top Gun Maverick - Again a pretty basic formula here. Lots of looks cool and nostalgia draws for this one, really enjoyed their version of the Star Wars Trench Run. It’s flashy and familiar.

Others have come close to $1B and the only animation film to come close is the Minions Movie this year that has been advertised since it was supposed to be released in 2020.

Avatar needs to come close to $2B just to break even. Hopefully Cameron has a better, more original story for the second one.

 

[Obi-J Kenobi]

Strange World's box office has to be extremely embarrassing to a lot of CMs at TWDC. An R-rated, Violent Night, obliterated Strange World at the box office in only its second week in the theaters. No offense to the folks that I'm assuming worked very hard on Violent Night, but an animated Disney movie should not be trounced by Violent Night at the box office.

That's epic -- bad.

 

[ElyseInWonderland]

Not to get off-topic, but I think Avatar 2 is going to bomb (or at the very least, not make back its $$$) for similar reasons. Studios need to put more effort into unique and cool storylines to get butts in seats at movie theaters. Cool, flashy visuals brought the crowds in 2008, but now it's hardly something a family is going to shell out $25 a person to go see.

Also re: Avatar- THREE HOURS LONG?! Inexcusable. At least Disney animation seems to understand that that's entirely too long to sit through a movie unless there's an intermission with espresso shots included.